Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1887-06-04
Abusing a Privilege.

ADuShnS u ~
Frank Pixley is the representative
of a school-not very large school
of bright but warped intellects who
are only happy when they violate the
canons of good sense in order to pro-
duce a sensation. They are not bound
by any of the ordinary rules that gov
ern everyday men. They are moth
ing if not odd. To fly in the face OF
established customs and modes OF
thoupht-to attack whatever is-to
play the role of the iconoclast-to
subordinate good breeding to their IN
satiate desire for notoriety-to ellmi-
N ate from discussion truth, modesty
and fair play-to pour out their viais
of wrath against classes-to pander to
the ultra views OF genteel cranks and
extremists-to take advantage Oh
their presses or their platforms to
create invidious prejudices and to stir
nm strife in communicate outrage
decency by the virulence OF their an
tagonisms-to provoke dissenslons
u nder the plea OF possessing higher
order of patriotism than their neigh
bors,-these are the methods by which
they reach a celebrity that makes
tn EN- as contemplate TO the sensible
people as Hercules was when he
welded the distaff to please the ex-
acting WITNESSES OF Omphale. The
Pixleys are not confined to any par
ticular place; We have them every
where. Their present craze is to con-
lure up the direst dangers pour coun-
try from the free access to our shores
of European immigration. There is,
however, marked popularity in
their madness. Whilst they affect to
see nothing but evil from European
immigration, they are opaquely
blind to the dangers OF the
Chinese invasion, and pretend
that it is better for the country to re-
ceive an alien race which can never
be digested into the body polite than
TO continue to receive immigrants OF
our own race, who, as the years roll
on, form the parent stock of the Amer
lean people. Their sympathies are
palpably with the heather who has
neither "scot nor LOTT with us in our
com mon destiny; and their prejudices
are transparency against the people
who are in their issue to become, as
the issue OF the early immigrations
have become, the common children
of the Republic. DIR. Canine is
e Violently a man of parts. lie is
gifted with a glib eloquence which
gratifies his hearers. But he belongs
to that school of uneven minds which
seeks rather to win notorlety by intel
lectual pyrotechnics than by calm
reasoning and the logic of cold facts.
Last Sunday he seized the occasion
of delivering what was understood to
be Memorial Day address, but which
had but the slightest reference to the
subject announced, and abused his
privilege by dealing nearly altogether
with an assumed danger TO Ameri-
can institutions from European i'm
migration. He drew picture OF the
foreign element in the United States
which is not justified by the facts.
In order to make his position appear
strong, he grouped together the
crimes OF the Socialists and the Nj
hiists, the acts OF outlawry that have
been committed by the criminal ele-
ment of the foreign class, and laid
them over against the entire class.
This mode OF reasoning is not only
unfair. but it is cruelty illogical. 1t
would be fairer to measure the pro-
portions OF the good against the
bad. than of the bad against
the good. He says that a
very large percentage OF the Euro
pean immigration is from the ''pauper
and criminal classes of the old world"
If that is so it is the fault of our Off
Gals. The pauper and criminal class
of Europe have no right to the hospi- |
tality of our country. The laws tor
bid their landing, and il they are per-
mitted to land, the authorities are
guilty of a serious dereliction OF duty. |
Hence the remedy is in requiring a |
rigid enforcement OF the laws, and
not in excluding all immigration. So
with the naturalization of foreigners. |
II paupers and criminals are made
citizens by the courts, they are SO
made in defiance of the Constitution |
and the laws, for it is prerequisite
to the clothing of a foreigner with the
garb of citizenship that he should
show that he is proper, well-inten-
toned and aw-abiding person. There
may be higher argument for the
OF the laws that freely
admit foreign srs to our shores and toll